Results tagged “disgrace”

Of course: Mayor Bloomberg calls a reporter a disgrace one day, then on the following days, other reporters want to ask him about it on other days! In the days since Observer and PolitickerNY reporter Azi Paybarah's question about the Bloomberg's decision to overturn term limits was rebuffed by the mayor—who called Paybarah "a disgrace"—Bloomberg has been called third worst person in the world by Keith Olbermann, was described as reaching "new heights of peevishness" by the NY Times and, today, was asked by a Thomson-Reuters reporter, "Do you think it’s disgraceful for reporters in an open society to ask questions of people in power about their actions and motives?”

Some follow-up to Mayor Bloomberg's exchange with Observer (and PolitickerNY) reporter Azi Paybarah. The NY Times described that the mayor "seemed to reach new heights of peevishness, calling a reporter who posed a question he did not like 'a disgrace.'" (The question was whether the mayor, who spoke of an economic turnaround, oversold his pitch for overturning term limits.) CBS 2 reported, "Many would say the reporter's question was relevant, especially since the city's failing economy is one of the reasons Bloomberg sought an exemption from term limits." Paybarah's editor Josh Benson told the Daily News, "It was a reasonable question. We're comfortable leaving it to everyone else to judge the quality of the response." A spokewoman for City Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson said, "What’s disgraceful is the Mayor’s refusal to answer the tough questions. Calling people names, having staff block cameras and bullying the press aren’t going to stop people from asking the mayor to explain his term limits bait and switch." The Mayor apologized, though indirectly; according to Paybarah, Bloomberg's press secretary Stu Loeser "called to relay an apology from the mayor."

Is the unofficial first rule of Mayor Bloomberg-Press Fight Club "Don't ask Mayor Bloomberg about term limits"? That's what it seems like when you watch this video from PolitickerNY's Azi Paybarah. Bloomberg, at a press conference touting how the city received $32 million in federal stimulus money for job training, said of the economy, "I’m reasonably optimistic that we’ve turned the corner" on the recession. So Paybarah asked if, since the economy was turning around, that meant Bloomberg oversold his pitch for overturning term limits—which the mayor didn't think was a "serious" question.

Former police commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded not guilty to additional charges at his arraignment in federal court yesterday. The Daily News reports the new charges accuse him of "falsifying income tax records and not declaring a BMW luxury car he got as payment for consulting services." Kerik was previously indicted on 16 other charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, tax fraud and making false statements (to the Department of Homeland Security), last year. Kerik had requested his DHS-related trial be moved from Washington D.C. to White Plains, but White Plains Federal Court Judge Stephen Robinson shot that down for now. Kerik is due back in court in February.